Welsh Government minister praises work of Cardiff Lifehouse

A Welsh Government minister has praised efforts by The Salvation Army to ensure mental health, substance use and wellbeing support are at the heart of the response to homelessness in Wales. 

Sarah Murphy MS, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Welsh Government, visited the Ty Gobaith Lifehouse on Bute Street this week close to where The Salvation Army held its first meeting in Wales more than 150 years ago. The site offers accommodation for single adults who may be homeless, sofa surfing and living hand to mouth, suffering from poor mental health or struggling with addiction.

Sarah Murphy MS said:

"Ty Gobaith Lifehouse demonstrates exactly why mental health, substance use and wellbeing support must be at the heart of our response to homelessness. These issues can't be tackled in isolation.

“It is pleasing to see the work undertaken by Ty Gobaith on the distribution of overdose antidote naloxone as this medication continues to be a key part of our harm reduction approach to substance use and is saving lives. I want to thank the team at Ty Gobaith for their dedication to supporting some of our most vulnerable citizens at their time of greatest need.”

The minister discussed The Salvation Army's policy calls on naloxone and homelessness with staff at Ty Gobaith. The church and charity is calling for the overdose antidote to be more widely available in public spaces such as transport hubs and shopping centres, and for greater awareness among the public about how to save lives using naloxone. 

Catherine Docherty leads The Salvation Army’s homelessness services in Wales, and said:

“We provided the minister with a flavour of the challenges faced when supporting our clients with substance use and mental health challenges across Wales, including ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all those who live and work at Ty Gobaith. This visit was also an opportunity to highlight the difficulties many of our residents’ face in accessing health care, particularly when mental health issues are complicated by substance use and vice-versa. There has been an increase both in demand for our services and in complexity of need for the individuals accessing them.  The drug landscape across Wales changes rapidly and it is important through our policy calls and our work that we continue to raise awareness of these much-stigmatised issues.”

The manager at Ty Gobaith Lifehouse is Hugh Carter, who said: 

“It has been really exciting for all of us to welcome the minister and be able to explain a little about all the different services our residents can access. We were able to talk about our substance use and mental health support alongside the broader health and wellbeing care available for residents. People without a home not only need a roof they also require support to tackle the reasons for their homelessness.”

Programmes of support at Ty Gobaith include a Resettlement Programme aiming to help every individual to get ready to live independently in the future, an Abstinence and Stabilisation Programme offering specialist recovery support from substance and alcohol use and The Compass Programme, which offers intensive support to improve the self-confidence, stability and skills.